By day DIA analyst Greg Elder combs through many
different types of intelligence information to pull together assessments for
the nation’s top leaders and policymakers. On his off time, Elder is a Civil
War historian, studying the battles and leaders and visiting the many
battlefields close to Washington, D.C.
In honor of the 150th anniversary of Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early’s Shenandoah Valley
offensive, Elder has combined his expertise with his passion, resulting in a
modern look at history, and a peek into the typically secret world of
intelligence analysis.
Using actual all-source
reporting from early June through July 3, 1864, Elder crafted an intelligence
assessment written from the perspective of the Union’s Bureau of Military
Information – the first modern all-source intelligence unit in history.
The assessment assumes
that Union commanders shared intelligence reporting with the BMI, which did not
occur in 1864, and provides a fresh take on what constitutes an intelligence
failure.
Click here for your modern
look into history.